Dragonfly tension spring.

[Joe Hinkle]

I somehow managed to lose the miniature spring sometime while attempting to clean/sanitize and reconstruct it after a terrible session that left brown pigment covering nearly the entire top motor casing one-eighth of an inch thick. Luckily, the motor is still operational.
Ok, I need a replacement for the tensioner. It is the small spring that fits around the mounting screw, not the larger wound spring. Does anyone know where I can find a suitable replacement for this? I have been having major problems with pigment backflow up and around the tube and have tried to remedy it with all the solutions found on this site with no relief. If I can't find a solution to this problem, I will be either selling or tossing it into a shelf to collect dust, I refuse to use a contaminated piece of equipment that I have to break down and madacide 1/4 uses.

[Mr.Taboo]

Hm I had a bit of a issue with ink creepin' up the bar , I put a slight bend in the bar just above where the grouping solders to it that did it for me.
As for the spring I'd guess contact inkmachines.

[Dreviltattoo]

i've had that problem too. i bend the bar too but in the middle and it seems to not happen now. you could always try needle runners. I use them sometimes if a piece is going to require a lot of upside down with the machine. ink machines sells every part on that machine separate. contact them for the spring. actually, it's just so it has tension and doesn't loosen up. just grab one at a hardware store. it's a pretty loose spring so don't get one too tight. it's about 3/8" long, 1/4" outside diameter and it's loosely coiled.

[TattoosByRob]

Needle Runners work great for all my rotaries, especially the Dragonfly not only do they stop 99% of BBPs and TOTALLY stabilize the needle they also prolong the motors by having less stress applied ....Another thing I found is the armature pin sometimes is factory screwed in all the way, if you open up the top, unscrew the adjuster screw, pull out the spring, loosen the allen screw and pull the pin forward and then tighten it down so it is more centered when fully assembled......I found this also helped with the back flow problem......

[turnrock]

Does anyone know where I can find a suitable replacement for this? go to the inkmachines website , they sell all the parts.http://www.inkmachines.com/catalog/3i realigned the needle bar pin on mine and never had the backflow problem happen again

[Joe Hinkle]

K, I found a sufficient replacement for the spring from a miniature hairclip. It actually makes a better and easier fit and is low tension as well. Good thing as well, I didn't want to pay 42 dollars for the complete tensioner device. I'm going to also try to center the armature pin like described above. Thanks for the input and advise.

[Administrator]

If you do a realignment and have a chance to post a how to in a new thread please do! it will probably help a lot of people looking for the same solution.

[Joe Hinkle]

I slid an armature bar alignment tool into the machine and the pin seemed to be in perfect alignment, although, I could shift the pin from side to side with pressure. Is this wobble normal when the machine is not running?
Since the pin was in alignment, I didn't break down the machine to make any adjustments.

[Administrator]

Ha, a simple task then. :)

[turnrock]

mine was way off, could of sworn that was the fix since it hasnt happened since.but i also stay away from thick pigments and put less of a bend on the needlebar than i was when i use the machine with regular tubes. t-tech the rest of the time

[Joe Hinkle]

I primarily use Dynamic for black, and Electric Ink for colors. Always with Sure-glide tube tips. I think an improperly aligned needle head soldering and Sure-glide tips is most likely the culprit, that combination can create problems with any machine but could possibly be magnified when used with the D-fly. I dig through an entire box at times and have to toss 25% of them away because they are not useable.